When I talk to people about my business I quite often get a reaction like “Oh, I have a website. I paid X amount and it doesn’t work”.
With “it doesn’t work” they usually mean that they don’t like it, they don’t get new business due to the website’s design / content or they can’t update the website themselves to inform their clients about news or events. In worst case it means all of the above.

Another reaction often is “Had I known what to prepare, the result would have been better and my money not wasted”.

So I thought I use the opportunity to put together some of the things you as the client need to think about before you approach a web designer. He / she should ask you these things in the first or second meeting to get the right understanding of your business, the audience you want to reach with the website and ideas you have already yourself. So it is better to think about these questions beforehand.

Do you have a branding? Like a logo, design, fonts you are using already?
If not this is the right time to first approach a graphic designer.

Who are your existing and potential clients? What is their average age? Who do you want to attract with your website?

Do you have a marketing plan? What is your unique selling point? Do you know your strengths and opportunities but your weaknesses and threats as well? These should get emphasised or attacked accordingly with the website.

What kind of marketing did you do so far? Like flyers, networking, advertisement in newspaper or on the radio. Which ones worked for you which ones didn’t and do you know why?

Who are your competitors and how do they present themselves online?

Which of their websites do you like or don’t like and why? This goes for design, pages and content.

What do you want to show on your website? And which features do you want to have? Like a gallery, a blog, e-commerce, a forum.